History does not run in a straight line. Real Madrid vs. Barcelona: Too Big to Fall, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/09/sports/soccer/real-madrid-barcelona-clasico.html. The Clásico has lost some of its luster as a season-defining day, but while its profile has fallen, its importance has not. The winner will take prime position to dislodge Atlético Madrid from the summit of La Liga. However, they weren’t as often as Barcelona’s, and in general, resulted in lower quality chances. Who, exactly, is suffering here? When, 50 years from now, sports historians come to look back on European soccer’s imperial phase, examining how it became what David Goldblatt has described as the single greatest cultural phenomenon of the modern era, they could do worse than to start with those 18 days in 2011 when Real and Barcelona played one another four times. Firstly, while Frenkie de Jong played in a relatively advanced role, he stayed quite wide. Everything that they need to do, they a priori already know, and will lead to them sailing ever so smoothly into a first-team spot. It would be what soccer, in the second decade of the 21st century, would measure everything against. Discover the Barça's latest news, photos, videos and statistics for this match for the La Liga match between Real Madrid - FC Barcelona, on the Sat 10 Apr 2021, 20:00 BST. The loser, as is the case whenever these two meet, will suddenly be flirting with crisis. It would be possible to build an argument that neither Spanish giant is, at this moment, in the top five. It is hard to identify the most dispiriting part of the episode last weekend in which Valencia’s Mouctar Diakhaby reported that he was racially abused by the Cádiz defender Juan Cala. This is why players such as Ansu Fati and Oscar Mingueza have succeeded, where Nelson Semedo and Arda Turan have not. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. However, tasking his old legs to guard such a big zone resulted in recurring issues. It certainly makes a difference when one has four midfielders in comparison to when one has three, and the number of centre-backs, while a seemingly irrelevant figure, has a panoply of consequences on the shape of the team long term. First of all, there is the fact that it was not the only episode of racist abuse of a soccer player that weekend: several more players, as always happens, were racially abused online. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. That honor, currently, falls somewhere between Manchester and Munich. Barcelona’s structure after the 81st minute deserves a special mention. Thankfully, Neto comes to Barça’s rescue saving the Madrid’s captain volley with his foot. The other is where you are coming from. Barcelona did manage to get into the box from central zone 14 or half-spaces, while Madrid clearly utilised their greatest strength – attacking from wide areas. However, the game didn’t go as Ronald Koeman planned, and Barcelona … The officials in Manchester City’s 2-1 win over Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday did not, it is fair to say, have a great evening: The decision to rule out Jude Bellingham’s goal — and, more to the point, to do so before the video assistant referee was able to contribute — did not exactly scream competence, after all. But that Barcelona and Real Madrid can be so close to the summit after a season spent at the depths is also a reminder that how far, and how fast, you fall is only one part of the equation. Remaining Schedule. Otherwise, this could turn out to be a worse season the previous one for La Liga. A staunch believer in Barcelona’s core values both in style and in ethics, the Spaniard is most certainly going to revert to the 4-3-3. Spain, as a whole, has lost its place at the vanguard. His overall decision making, positional awareness and his ability to mark attackers have often been permeated with his dreadful inconsistency and woeful uncertainty. Not a single soul, except perhaps Zinedine Zidane. Vinicius stayed high and wide, while Marco Asensio drifted in and out, often letting Federico Valverde occupy the wider channels. Koeman’s overthinking and tinkering nullified both their strengths. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. Offensively, Luiz is a sight for sore eyes. As it turned out, of course, there was a wholly different rationale for it. The onus is on Ronald Koeman and the current board to discuss the way forward. All the slogans and all the campaigns in the world are worth nothing if, when presented with an accusation of racist abuse on the field, the immediate reaction is to try to stifle protest, to protect the product at all costs. It has still frittered away hundreds of millions of dollars in the transfer market. Even in a pandemic, even in a closed stadium, the world will be watching. He loves to play centrally. Tasked with defending as well as attacking the left flank in conjunction with his wingers, the Spaniard has shown aptitude in only one of these things. Its squad is still aging. Madrid didn’t cover themselves in glory either, especially in the first half. Here are the most dangerous passes by both teams: Passes into the box were few by either team. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Vinicius Jr. of Real Madrid, which is chasing a record 14th Champions League title. The point of autographs has always eluded me — look at this scrap of paper that a person I have seen on television unthinkingly and resentfully scrawled on! From touch-based heatmaps, there are two interesting features. Real Madrid vs Barcelona El Clasico 2021 score: 2-1 Real Madrid have won the second Clasico of the 2020/21 LaLiga Santander season, defeating Barcelona 2-1 at home at the Estadio The Clásico was not only the meeting of soccer’s two great powers or the world’s two best teams. In 19 (90.48%) matches played at home was total goals (team and opponent) Over 1.5 goals. The team needs reinforcements and pruning of unwanted players in equal measure wherever necessary. They could even manage elaborate buildups, with two examples shown below: Shambolic would be the right word to define Barcelona’s defending in the game. The next two examples are from the second half: In the first one, the “pivot” Coutinho loses track of Toni Kroos’ run. For all the virtues the system has, it has done absolutely nothing to improve Alba’s — or Dest’s — defensive capabilities but rather conceal them by use of the back three. Firstly, Jordi Alba returned from injury to play as left-back, while Sergi Roberto was omitted altogether for Sergiño Dest. Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. The lack of speed and the alertness to track runners was exposed yet again. From the Pre-Benjamín to the Juvenil and all the way to Barça B, the academy players are inculcated with a strict set of values, intricately detailed roles with pertinent information for each position one can take up once they get to the end game, which is, for every academy player, to play for the first team. Until then, Barcelona were evidently the better team starting to dominate a bit as well. The game was pretty even for nearly one hour, with neither Barcelona nor Real Madrid standing out as the better team. That Real Madrid and Barcelona have fallen is not in question. There is no argument from me on any of that — though I’d contest that I’m tired of any of it; not emotionally stimulated is probably a better description — but I would hold off on any particularly ardent criticism. The maintenance and furtherance of this school of thought and football ensure ease of integration into the first team, almost indifferent of age. More important, the decision to continue (and to threaten to punish a team that will not) reflects appallingly on soccer’s antiracism posturing. Real Madrid is going head to head with Barcelona starting on 10 Apr 2021 at 19:00 UTC at Estadio Alfredo di Stefano stadium, Madrid city, Spain. Real Madrid vs Barcelona: a very evenly matched rivalry Over the last years, Barcelona has equaled and even surpassed Real Madrid … And if he somehow manages to retain his spot in the lineup, the midfield structure needs to be fixed so that he doesn’t get tasked with defending such a wide area. The sages once coined that the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and there are several concrete examples to further this theory. If Barcelona wins a championship, rumors of its demise must have been greatly exaggerated. These cookies do not store any personal information. Sometimes stars align. One need only look at David Luiz’ career to get a glimpse at the long term negatives of the pursuit of a back three. It is a method in which a team can shoot itself in the foot. Sometimes Liverpool wins the Champions League with Djimi Traoré at left back. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. He recorded two assists, which on its own was phenomenal, but on the flip side, he gave away two goals as a result of his complete lack of positional and spatial awareness. From the PPDA (Passes per Defensive Action) data, which is a proxy for pressing intensity, it’s evident that neither team went for a very high press. The substitutions and Koeman’s game management made little to no sense. Some of us, however, find watching the skill of the players, the coordination and precision of the teamwork, the depth of the squad, and the brilliance of the coach wonderful to watch.”. However, the game didn’t go as Ronald Koeman planned, and Barcelona stumbled to defeat in the first El Clasico of 2020-21. As seen in the Getafe game, in more cases than not, more forwards does not equate to more goals. His prowess in attack, owing to his pristine ball control, reliability under pressure and impressive passing range are rather impressive for a centre-back. Sergio Busquets occupied the central channels. There is still Messi, of course, but there is no Ronaldo, no Xavi, no Andrés Iniesta, no Xabi Alonso. Fethi Belaid/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images, the world’s most prodigious producer of players. It and Barcelona, the twin, repelling poles of the Clásico, each may be no more than seven weeks from glory. For more modern material, “The Club,” by Josh Robinson and Jon Clegg, encapsulates the Premier League era. poor covering by Busquets and de Jong. That is, up until the introduction of the 3-5-2. Mark Gromko, meanwhile, takes me to task for my “evident disregard for Manchester City. At the same time, Real Madrid, the familiar scent of European glory in its nostrils, breezes past Liverpool and edges Chelsea to win a place in the Champions League final. The back three masks a panoply of positional issues within the players. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. Barcelona’s financial strife is alarmingly real, even after the election of a new president. Lionel Messi played as the no. Despite this, the fact that one would constantly need to have two near him for him in order for him to excel speaks volumes about his defensive ability. Manchester City and Bayern Munich, certainly, are more coherent, more complete teams. Neither team were truly impressive in passing. On Saturday, the two will meet in Madrid in their second meeting of … Lionel Messi scored his 500th Barcelona goal to send them top of La Liga with an injury-time winner against 10-man Real Madrid at the Bernabeu. Throughout his career, the Brazilian has been marred by defensive issues. However, they got scored against the run of play. It is their job to make saves, however, this should not now become an excuse for future complacency. Post that, however, the scoreline spoke for itself. Germany — and, to some extent, the city of Leeds — is the wellspring of soccer’s ideas. The opposition defence has to leak outwards to cope with the wingbacks, and in the process, stretches the centre beyond help. However, the field tilt, or final third territory gained, was being dominated by Madrid in the first half. In the second period, however, with the introduction of the 4-3-3, things changed for the better, and if not for some misfortune in the final seconds of the match, the comeback would have been completed. A managerial change is always around the corner in this fast-paced footballing world, and should Antonio Conte depart from the Nerazzurri, then the current Italian leaders could see a majority of their squad turn to deadwood in the blink of an eye.